Biography

Also known as Abdullah.

An inquiry held at Lawlers into the death of Abdullah, an Afghan, resulted in the finding that the man was wilfully murdered on the night of April 29 by a bullet by a person or persons unknown. The deceased was found dead in his bed. He had a bullet wound through the head and a wound through the palm of one hand.

At the inquest which was held in May 1919, at Lawlers, Dr Cameron, who conducted a postportem examination several days after the murdered man's death, gave evidence that Abdullah had been shot through the mouth.  The teeth along both jaws were shattered and the jaw bones were broken, while there was a shot wound in the head behind the left ear.  There was dried blood on the left hand through which a bullet had passed.  He did not think the wounds were self-inflicted as there were no marks of singeing on the wounds.  Death had been instantaneous.

Other evidence showed that Abdullah had been very popular in the Lawlers district.  At the time of his death, he was a owner of a large store in Lawlers.  He was of a very quiet disposition and there was nothing to show that he had at any time been implicated in a feud.

Abdullah was a principal driver of the Police camel teams out the back of Kalgoorlie in the 1890s. Inspector Walsh of the C.T.D. recounted many experiences with the deceased who, he stated, was an excellent man with camels, and at a glance could judge whether a camel was going to be useful or otherwise . He was also a good cook and a trustworthy servant.  Abdullah severed his connection with the Police Department in 1897, when he commenced a carrying business, taking provisions on the backs of camels to posts far out in the outback.

The deceased had lived in South Australia for some time before moving to Western Australia.

Some 14 years later, in January of 1934, a 35 year old half caste Indian named Mohammed Bux gave himself up to the Carnarvon Police, confessing that he had murdered an Afghan storekeeper at Lawlers.  Mahommed Bux was in the district at the time of the murder and had been friendly with Abdullah.  He was interviewed by the detectives who were making investigations, but from the story he told it was not considered necessary for him to give evidence at the inquest. He was born at Coolgardie, his father being an Indian and his mother an English woman. He was only 19 years of age at the time and told the police that he suffered with his head, and at times wandered alone in the bush not knowing where he was. He said that he was unable to give the police any indication as to the identity of the murderer.

On 24 February 1934, Bux was charged with the wilful murder of Abdullah in 1919.  In Carnarvon, Bux had made a full statement about the murder but chose not to sign it. In the statement, Bux said he had been motivated to kill Abdullah because at home, his sister, Jane, told her father that Abdullah had raped their sister, Marian.  Apparently his sister had been given to Abdullah as his wife and Bux did not agree with it.

At the trial, where the evidence of many witnesses was given, it was revealed that Bux suffered from periodical attacks of insanity, during which time he would wander off into the bush for days at a time and frequently heard voices in his head.  He denied ever having heard that Abdullah had committed any offence against his sister.  

Inspector General of the Insane, Dr Bentley, confirmed this and the court heard that Bux' mother died in an asylum in 1912 and that his sister was at that time an inmate of one of those institutions.

The jury was only away half an hour when they returned with their verdict of "not guilty".

The murder of Abdul Nazur MAHOMET remains unsolved.